About The Movie:
The Conjuring transports us into the world of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), the famous real-life couple who for decades studied, combated and documented supernatural occurrences. Teased by the promise that this is the Warren’s most frightening case of all, The Conjuring follows the plight of the Perron family – Carolyn (Lili Taylor), her husband Roger (Ron Livingston) and their five daughters – who move into a remote farmhouse, only to discover it is inhabited by a fearsome demonic presence.
Ed and Lorraine agree to help the Perrons exorcise their home, but the case quickly proves to be more dangerous than they could’ve ever imagined. With Lorraine (a talented physic) vulnerable to the dark forces haunting the Perrons, and a ghostly adversary that’s as cunning as she is evil, the Warrens soon find that they have become the hunted, instead of the hunters.
What Is Good/Bad About The Movie:
Like in Jaws, we get to know the family whose trauma we will soon share. We like them, which makes what we see befall them all the more harrowing. A warm stay-at-home mom (Lili Taylor), a patient truck driver dad (Ron Livingston), and their flock of young daughters are ecstatic at the prospect of their brand new home...until weird smells lead to strange sounds lead to outright menacing assaults from mysterious spirits.
Farmiga keeps her portrayal of Lorraine nuanced, presenting her as a soft-spoken but determined woman whom you mightt easily trust with your life. Wilson plays Ed as a bit of a bumpkin, whose well-meaning attempts as smooth talk are clunky yet endearing. Together they share an easy chemistry that makes them believable not just as husband and wife but also as partners in their investigation, her thoughtfulness and his boyish bravado making them fitting foils.
Taylor is captivating as the mother most plagued by these spirits, expertly managing her grim transformation from chipper to terrorized. Livingston is aptly strong but mostly silent in a role that offers him little to do beyond chasing his frightened family members around.
The Conjuring is totally terrifying. And if scares are all you care about in your horror films, you can stop reading this review-- go buy your ticket. Still, this film is far from flawless. The Warrens themselves could have stood to have a bit more definition as well. Ed tells others that these dealings with the dead have taken a terrible toll on Lorraine, so much so that he fears for her safety. But the problem is the stakes are never made clear. Does Lorraine risk death? Possession? Insanity? We aren't shown but a flash of what's referring to as her low point.
The Conjuring proves that it is a small miracle that the movie achieves the nonstop, hair-raising tension that it does. Instead of CGI creatures and fancy visual effects used in so many other films today, The Conjuring takes things back to the ’70s/’80s era of horror movies, using simple filmmaking techniques like camera angles, keen concepts and fantastic sequencing to create a truly terrifying horror experience that is mostly free of blood and/or gore, making its frightful nature an even more impressive achievement.
